Winter X Games 2013 from Aspen/Snowmass: Day 2

It was an American sweep on Friday night at Men’s Ski SuperPipe finals. David Wise defended his title, landing the first back-to-back double cork 1260s in competition history, as well as the incredibly difficult switch double cork 1080.

When the 22-year-old, Reno, NV native won gold in the event in 2012, he was the first father to stand atop the superpipe podium. Friday night, he soared more than 20 feet out of the famous halfpipe.

“I started to get a little nervous when Torin went on his last run, and I'm glad my score stuck,” said Wise. “At the same time it's an honor to be up here with my teammates who all skied really well and we are fresh off injuries.”

Wise posted the night's top scores (94.66 and 95.66) in his first two of three runs. Aspen native Torin Yater-Wallace, 17, took his second consecutive silver medal and his third medal in three years. Simon Dumont, skiing in his 12th consecutive X Games final and skiing without poles due to recent wrist injuries, claimed bronze.

In the Snowboard Street event, Canadian Louis-Felix Paradis, 26, won gold on Friday afternoon at X Games Aspen. His winning run included a frontside, bluntside to backside 270 and some wallride to rail transfers. Dylan Alito, 22, of Golden, Colo., who entered the second heat with the lowest score landed a cab 270 onto the closeout rail and took silver. X Games rookie Dylan Thompson, 25, of Hood River, Ore., finished third.

In women’s Ski SuperPipe, Tahoe native Maddie Bowman took her first X Games gold medal.

"It means a lot to honor Burke,” said Bowman, who won silver last year. “Sarah would have wanted us to ski as hard as we did."

Canadian Roz Groenewoud, who won last year's event with the highest Women's SuperPipe score in X Games history (93.66), won silver, while fellow Canadian, 20-year-old Megan Gunning, finished with the bronze.

In a groundbreaking Snowboard Big Air competition, Norwegian Torstein Horgmo, 25, took gold with a progressive and spectator-loving switch backside triple cork 1440, while silver medalist Mark McMorris landed an unprecedented cab triple cork 1440. Norwegian Stale Sandbech took third in a competition that was a battle of the triple corks.

“This is the craziest level of riding I’ve ever been a part of,” said Horgmo, “It’s one of the best jumps ever built. The level just got pushed so high.”

Halldor Helgason of Iceland landed hard while attempting a triple back flip on the 80-foot jump, sustaining a concussion. He was transferred to Aspen Valley Hospital.

Earlier in the day, the world’s 16 best slopestyle skiers competed in the elimination competition to determine the eight skiers to compete in Sunday’s final.

After a crash on his first run, British skier James Woods came back with a strong second run to earn the highest score in the elimination, a 92.66. Norwegian Andreas Håtveit qualified second and in third, X Games rookie Alex Bellemare from Canada.

Tom Wallisch, the defending Slopestyle champion and a favorite heading into this contest, crashed on his first run and dragged his hand on the second finished in ninth place, just missing the cut. Two weeks ago, he suffered a partial MCL tear in his knee while competing at the U.S. Grand Prix at Copper Mountain, Colo. He competed with a knee brace Friday and decided not to compete in Saturday night's Men's Ski Big Air.